Welcome to my new project log!

As some of you already know, I'm building a new computer for university, and I will be keeping a log of it here. All pictures I take (except duplicates) will be put in the gallery here with each update getting it's own subalbum.

Final specs;
DFI LanParty JR P45-T2RS mATX mobo.
Q6600 (G0) with Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro cooler, 4x2.4GHz (266MHz x9) overclocked to 4x 3.2GHz (333MHz x9) or more, we'll see.
HD4870 (GeCube version, simple sticker)
4GB RAM (OCZ Reaper PC2-6400 CL4).
1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1
Corsair HX620 Modular PSU.
El generico DVDRW (cheapest SATA available). I think it was an LG model.
Vista 64bit Home Premium
Case as below.

Total cost: around £850

I have until the end of September to finish this, so that's one month. Should be a good ride.

Updates;
28/08 - Case delivery.
31/08 - New front, pt1
07/09 - A week of updates (new front, part 2)
10/09 - Primer, prep and a Parcel!
20/09 - FINISHED! Parts: Delivery - Building - Front finalisation - Finishing touches - Final pics

Current state;
FINISHED;

Well, lets start off with a simple update, my first delivery.

Album is here.

On Tuesday I ordered a case and 3 fans and they arrived today. Unfortunately I had to get a case with a PSU as there was nothing like it without. I will replace it though.

They came in 2 boxes;


I opened the boxes and removed the items.
Case;

Fan;


I then stripped the case down and laid everything out, this is what I was left with;


After looking at the case;
It is made of thin material, though feels strong enough.
The holes at the back have been destroyed by a badly aligned screw. Should still work, though.
I wouldn't trust the handle on the front.
Screw construction (few rivets) - great for modding.
Paint job is decent Very shiny, attracts fingerprints. Paint on panel insides is thin, with some slightly bare patches.
PSU looks terrible, the insides are, well, small.

Overall, a decent case for the case, and ripe for modding.

Now then, you may have noticed have more fans than fan bays. First fan is going in the back, replacing the rubbish one in the back, then the other 2 need modding to fit.

My first thought was making a new front and placing the two fans there as a massive intake;

Yes, this loses a lot of stuff on the front, namely the existing cover and a 3.5 bay (though I doubt I'd use it anyway). This would be a fair bit of work, as I'd need to make an entirely new front panel.

Another option would be to put it in the side panel;

This would be less work, but would require cutting the side panel, and if I screw up I make a mess. Also, the fan would need a corner trimming off to prevent it blocking the mobo. I would need an 80mm fan for the existing front slot, aswell, to help airflow. This would probably be an easier, but less effective, solution.

Any suggestions? I don't think it can handle cooling the hardware I want in it's current state, so it needs modifying.

I would like to be the first person to say: nice power supply.

That power supply is made of fail and will be replaced with a Corsair HX620 (knew I missed something from the specs).

Anyway, I could do with opinions on where to put the fans.

Heh, well it looks like it comes with space for one 60mm fan on the front so umm... need I say more?



If possible, I would make a meal of it and replace the front panel, and use 2 120mm fans as per fig. 5 above.

It's actually an 80mm at the front.

The two front fans is my favourite option, but the amount of work and what it would end up like is a concern. Could try making a front panel first, see what I can do.

so...many...fans!

Only the 3 case fans, then 1 for each of PSU, CPU and GPU, making a total of 4 120mm, 1 92mm (I think) and 1 60mm (ish - graphics). My current case has 4 120mm, 4 80mm, 1 60mm, 2 40mm.

It's not a lot of fans

Quick update;

Got a sheet of steel (all the aluminium was naff) and some mesh for fan covers today, may look at making a new front tomorrow. Pics will come later.

nice overexposure



"Fan" means "Fúck" in Swedish

lol thts a lil random and off topic lol , case looks wasome lol cnt wait to buys ur old 1 cause i dnt like my blue 1 no mores lol ( if in1 wnts it £30 local members only lol )

Thanks Wigo. Hopefully I will get this finished in a couple of weeks (and the motherboard will be released.

Bratty, stop being silly. And the pics were just snapped quickly, don't really care about overexposure.

They are really good fans by the way.

I know, that's why I got them

FIVE LOLS! wow you really love that word lol, lol it makes you come across as lol nervous lol, agreed? lol

and mark skilbeck needs all the fans for when he gets in a rage so the fans on his pc cool him down

OMG NO

ROFL, Si.

And I don't rage, lol.

Anyway, I should be making an attempt at the front panel today, expect piccies.

Here we go, update time!

Gallery clicky.

So, today I started work on the new front today.

Got these from B&Q a couple of days ago;

1mm sheet steel, 50cm square (would have preferred aluminium but there wasn't any decent stuff). Also 0.5mm mesh (can't remember what metal), 50cmx25cm.

I cut the steel into a rectangle of the correct size;

With some quick edge finishing;


Lining up the front for marking the holes;

I found out that the bottom centre hole for the 80mm fan lines up perfectly for having 2 120mm fans with one bolt through there.

So I drilled the hole, lined up the fans and continued drilling all the holes. I then lined up the fans again to draw big cutouts for the air to go through;


Which were then cut out;


Both holes have been cut out, but I don't have an image of that.

Yes the drill holes are wonky, but I'll fix that. The cut outs do need filing aswell, that comes tomorrow.

To come for the front;
Cleaning up the holes.
Cutting out a slot for the DVDRW and a fan controller.
Cutting out slots for USB sockets and switches (Looking at these for switches).
Painting the front (black).
Cut mesh to size for fans.

Thoughts?

i think u shud wear googles or gloves or sumit whn ur cutting them!!!

Indeed, and make sure bags are under desks and that you are not sitting down.

Oh Health and Safety in this thread now?

The pillar drill has a safety guard, and I do wear goggles the rest of the time.

BTW, sorry for a lack of updates this week, I got sidetracked by my current comp breaking, but I will probably do some today and give you an update later.

What I have done;
Finished the fan holes
Got some new switches
Marked out everything for more cutting

What I need to do;
Finish cutting the front
Cut the case
Cut the mesh
Bend the front
Paint the front

Hopefully I will have it done by next weekend.

Sorry for the lack of updates, I have been sidetracked by my current computer's death, but I have done lots of work today. I will start this update with the few things that I did during the week.

Album is here.

So first up we have the finished fan holes;


After lots of work with some sandpaper they've got very smooth edges, even if they are a bit wobbly (I probably should have got a holesaw);

Sorry for the blurriness, didn't notice when I took it..

So during the week my dad popped into Maplins (he works near one) and bought some goodies;

Originally I was going to have 2 of the switches on the right (the metal ones), but they only had one of each in stock. I'm quite glad, now, as the other switch, while not looking quite as nice, has a much better "click action" on it, probably due to it's much greater travel (its shell is about twice the length). The use of each switch will be revealed later...

I then proceeded to mark out lots of stuff on the sheet;

And after starting to cut it;


I was drilling the holes with these;

They're tapered drill bits, pretty useful for drilling large holes. Unfortunately, the pillar drill I use can't go slow enough for the big sizes, and this caused lots of problems, such as the drill getting jammed and the chuck assembly falling off. I had to wait to get my dad to do these holes as I just couldn't do it at all.

While I was waiting for him to get back I worked on making the holes for the various ports the right size. I salvaged the port assembly from the other front, and it has 2 USB, 2 audio (mic/headphones) and 1 firewire. I originally created the openings with a drill and jigsaw, then worked them open with needle files;

(Near) perfect fit;


This is what it looked like after the holes had been cut and a slot removed. Points for those who correctly identify what everything is for. I also cut the squares in the corners off as I had a change of mind about how I was going to finish the corners (more on that below);


The sides were then folded over with the help of a vice, blocks of wood and a hammer;


Looking pretty good, but one problem is that the corners look naff;


So out came the (very old) Milliputti(?);

Milliputti is a bit like epoxy in that it has two parts, except parts are more like bluetac or plastacine. You mix the parts together then mold it to where you want, and leave it to set. I wasn't too fussed about the form as I would be sanding it anyway. This is what it looked like from the inside;


I also got some primer/paint today, but haven't got any pics of that.

To do;

Sand and paint front.
Little touches (switch wiring,DVD cover etc)
Cut front of actual case.
Buy components.
Build.

Enjoy

- Skillers

P.S. Still no sign of that P45 board

Oh, and noone is posting here

Nice work Skillers

Better than anything I could ever do. Present me with a drill and a sheet of aluminium and I will sweat profusely... I just can't do it.

I am going to make a suggestion and I fully expect it to blow back in my face and that you have your reasons... and I am in fact surprised with myself for suggesting it. But why don't you go for a P35 instead of a P45?

I am sure you want P45 for PCI-Express v2.0, but are you prepared to deal with the additional heat output that feature has made in the P45 chip? Although the P45 chip is 65nm vs 90nm for the P35, the P45 puts out a lot more heat than the P35.

If you're going for DDR2 memory, then I reckon the P35 is the better value-for-money part. Small form factor P35 boards don't cost much compared to their P45 successors and provide near-to or same performance if you put the graphics to the back of your mind. I don't think a 4870 is enough to max out the PCI-Express v1.1 bandwidth limit but I would happily be put wrong.

I'm just thinking... this P45 board could be vapourware until X58. And will you really still want a P45 then?

Speaking of P45's... I should stop browsing the web so much at work or I'll get in to trouble!

its like a dairy we just read it (yeah I read it all, someones kidnapped the real me!) besides the only thing i can actually say is i hope your being safe when you do this cz i dont want you hurt!, but it looks good, though from the beginning i dont see why you dony just put the parts in the case the case looked fine plus ive only just figured out how to find this thread again lol.

but your not guna get anything technical outta me, just hoping your being safe

@Aaron: I am not aware of any P35 mATX motherboards. My alternative motherboard is this G35. The reason I wanted the P45 is probablyy quite obvious - a full desktop chipset without extra rubbish like integrated graphics. If you are aware of where I can get a (decent) mATX P35, that would be brilliant.

@Demonata: I modded it because I wasn't happy with the existing cooling, so I'm doing this to add 2 big fans to the front of the case.

Update;

The milliputti seems dry, I will sand it later.